When people ask me about Word Artisan VT and what I do, I offer this simple explanation: “I help people write books.”

Why is writing my passion? Great writing is powerful. Finely tuned language resonates.

It strikes the deeper tones of human experience. It helps us to shape our impulses, desires, and goals into understandable patterns. Effective writing unfolds knowledge; it increases compassion and changes minds; it can change the world.

I collaborate closely with my writing clients as an editor, developmental editor, or book doctor depending on the project’s needs. I help my clients’ creative ideas and ambitions unfold into meaningful stories that encapsulate the experience of being a human in our complicated time.

With an MA in Writing: Fiction from the University of New Hampshire, and an MFA in Writing: Poetry from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, I can support you during the creation or revision of your book. I offer in-depth thoughtful comments, questions, and suggestions based on quintessential elements of craft. I’ve been a writer, educator, and editor for many years, and I’ve worked on books, newspapers, graduate student works, journal articles, marketing materials … the list goes on.

Please note: I do not use AI or work on manuscripts that are generated by AI. I believe in the power and magic of our own personal creativity and intellectual reasoning.

Are you working on a book?

Manuscript Feedback, Book Doctor, Developmental Editing, Line Editing

As a manuscript coach, I’ve collaborated with a wide range of national and international clients on works of fiction (Adult, YA, Sci-Fi, Fantasy), nonfiction (Memoir, Informative, Self-Help, Spiritual), and poetry. My own writing practice informs the way I support my clients. I understand the joys and challenges of the creative process. My years of teaching taught me how to give feedback that enlightens and motivates writers, but is also honest. I believe that fearless revision is the heart of the writing process.

Do you have a finished piece of writing that needs copy editing or proofreading?

When I am copy editing, the outside world disappears and time floats by unnoticed—I am “in flow.” To me, editing is like solving a puzzle. How do the words best fit together to communicate what this client needs to say? To capture the tone? To evoke a reader’s engagement and emotion? Copy editing is not a rote machine-like endeavor; it’s a highly creative, reasoned process.

For proofreading, I have developed a technique I call “chunking.” I chunk phrases together in order to spot the missing words or punctuation marks and other errors that even seasoned writers or AI might miss. Yet, even with a careful proofreader, it’s always a good idea to have at least two people read through the final draft. Proofreading requires perfection. Humans are not perfect, neither is AI. The more eyes on a document, the better! Even famous literary figures have errors in their books.

Having been an editorial assistant for a local book publisher, I have extensive experience with the Chicago Manual of Style. For manuscripts, it’s my go-to guide for punctuation, capitalization, and other style standards. Even still, the finer points of word choice or punctuation can be nebulous. Famous editors have had vigorous arguments over the placement of a comma. My practice is to research for grammatical consensus and to consider the intended meaning and fluency of a line.

The Editor–Writer Collaboration: A trusting, comfortable, friendly human relationship between each client and me is paramount, along with some humor and fun.

It’s my priority to listen carefully to what you wish to say and why, so that my contribution works to elevate your voice and helps your ideas to ring out. There is quite the cacophony in our technological world. I fine-tune language and offer feedback so that you can find the readers who will be inspired by your knowledge, life experiences, or poetic vision.

“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. … It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.”
—Enid Bagnold, British author and playwright who wrote National Velvet